Brave New World
by J. H. Fee
Summary: A massive Final Fantasy Crossover. Chapter 3 up! Cloud wakes up in a strange metal room, where his only companion is a sickly woman, and something unsettling is going on...
1. Prologue

**Brave New World**

Prologue: Midgar

"Hurry, quickly. We don't have much time!" Tifa Lockheart could barely hear her own shouts over the streaming crowds of people that hurdled past her, bodies shoving her too and fro as they flooded into the three massive doors that led down into the massive network of tunnels beneath the city of Midgar. She recognized clothing styles from across the world from Neibelheim to Wutai, all driven here in a desperate attempt for survival against an enemy no one could quite figure out how to fight.

There was a chirp at her hip, and then the cell phone tucked into the front pocket of her black apron started to ring. She fished it out even as she shoved her way towards the edge of the crowd, putting the phone to one ear as she pressed her gloved hand into the other. "What?!" She had to shout the word, and even then she wasn't sure whoever was on the other end could hear her. The phones hadn't been working right for days.

"Tifa, if you're there, it's Elena," the female turks voice was distant and hazy, barely audible over the crowd. "Rufus and Cid have got the Sister Ray working, and that storm is almost here. You've got five minutes to get the rest of those people underground."

"Wait! We need more-" Tifa started to respond, but Elena was already gone. Tifa wasn't sure whether they had been cut off, or the young Turk had just hung up on her. Shinra's secret service agents had never been much for conversation.

The former bartender slipped her phone back into her pocket and started to climb up onto a nearby pile of boxes, kneeling on top so she could survey the rest of the crowd. There were maybe a thousand people still out there, but they were making good time. _Not that being underground is going to save these people if we can't stop that storm…_

Across the crowd, she could see the former thief, Yuffie Kisaragi, helping an old woman into the tunnels, and she lifted a hand to get the others attention, and then tapped her wrist and held up five fingers. She would have shouted the time, but the odds of being heard over the crowd were…slim. The ninja woman just nodded her head and went back to her work.

Then suddenly the entire metal city seemed to vibrate, and gave a deep, resonante 'gong' sound that nearly knocked Tifa off her perch. High above, with a grinding of gears that had not been used in years, the massive Sister Ray canon began to rotate around the ruins of the Shinra Building, spinning painfully towards Kalm.

--

A mile or so above the city, Shera Highwind steadied the controls on the Reconciliation, the latest of her husband, Cid's, airships and her own personal transport. Out the massive front window, she could barely make out the form of Red Thirteen, the massively intelligent tiger-man that had befriended Cid and the others back during the Meteor crisis.

The cat was perched on the very tip of the airship, crouched down, his unwavering gaze fixed on the distant horizon, where the rooftops of Kalm dotted the coast, and beyond it, the massive stretch of sea that eventually led all the way to Wutai. He'd been there for almost half a day, unmoving, unblinking…it was a job that only he could do, really. To be the first to give the warning when...

Elena frowned, her thoughts trailing off as she realized that his distant form was actually getting larger…and after a moment, she could tell he was barreling towards the center of the ship and the doorway into the command room. A second later he burst through the twin doors and slid to a stop on the wooden floor, claws scraping as he tried to steady himself.

"It is here," his guttural voice echoed through the room, and Shera couldn't resist the shiver that ran up her spine, even as she was scooping her radio up from the control panel.

The small device emitted a burst of static when she clicked it on, and she had to yank her ear away, but once it had settled she brought it to her lips. "Cid?"

After a count of five, the receiver crackled to life. "Shera, honey, you alright up there?" Cid's voice was tired but strong, and had that faintly muffled quality that meant he was talking with a cigarette in his mouth. She'd tried to get him to stop, normally she would have chastised him, but it didn't seem worth the effort today.

"I'm fine, Cid. Listen, Red's back inside. He says it's here. I think we're out of time."

There was a long pause, and Shera could almost make out the sounds of arguing voices in the background as she pressed the radio into her ear. And then Cid was back. "Alright, we're gonna go in five. You and the boys get ready. And be careful."

"Alright. Love you." Shera's voice dropped to a whisper as she said this last bit, and she let her eyes close.

"I love you too." Cid was almost as quiet, and there was a long pause before the radio clicked silent. Shera held in a breath and then carefully set her own microphone down and turned towards her controls. A pair of switches were thrown, and her voice stretched out to the three dozen airships hovering in the skies around her. It was a mixed force, mostly Highwind built airships with half a dozen remaining Shinra ships and helicopters mixed in.

"Alright people, this is it. Arm your ships, we go in five."

--

"So, you think it'll work? I think it'll work. It's gonna work."

Cloud did not respond to the quick, nervous words of the red headed turk standing next to him, his eyes intent on the city far below, where Tifa and the others were herding the last of the survivors down below the city. He'd wanted to be down there, helping, but it made sense for someone to be up here, to keep an eye on Cid. Rufus might have turned over a new leaf, but that didn't mean Cloud completely trusted him. Not yet.

They were standing on one of the observation platforms that ringed the Sister Ray command terminal, the canon rotating slowly beneath them, its shadow drifting over the few remaining plate sections and the distant slums beneath. As the canon rotated, the platform vibrated just a tad, making Cloud's muscles want to fidget. But he kept his arms crossed, staring down at the city. He was _not_ going to end up dancing around like Reno was doing.

"It's totally going to work. I just wish we could've tried in Junon," Reno went on, and joined his words now with a faint, nervous tapping of his baton against the metal railing, making a quiet 'ping' noise over and over. "But with all eight of the old Mako plants running again, it's totally going to work."

Cloud grimaced at that, he hadn't wanted to bring the old machines back online, but it was the only way to power the Sister Ray…and honestly, there didn't seem to be any other options besides the giant canon.

"So, you think it'll work? I think-" Reno was saved from starting his rambling over once more by the sound of footsteps behind, and both men turned to see Rude standing at the bottom of the platform stairs. The bald turk pointed his gloved hand over his shoulder, peering up at them over the tops of his ever-present sunglasses. "That cat says we've got incoming. It should be on the outer cameras in a minute or so."

"Well, finally." Reno smirked and started towards his partner, tapping his baton against the metal railing next to him every couple of feet. "This is going to work, you know."

Rude just shrugged and turned his gaze on Cloud. "Are you coming?"

Cloud turned back to look down at the city one more time, then nodded and followed the two turks back towards central control.

--

In the control room, Cid Highwind was half-buried in wires and cables as he sat on the floor next to the central hub for the Sister Ray, carefully checking each connection one last time before he was satisfied. Rufus Shinra, the president of the almost-defunct Shinra Corporation, was sitting nearby checking the various computers that made all the wires actually do something.

It had been madness to think they could get the broken weapon working again, and yet…in three weeks, between the remains of Shinra's once massive workforce and Cid's own people working triple shifts, there it was. The barrel wasn't quite as long as it used to be, but otherwise…it should work.

Somewhere behind, he could hear several of the Turks speaking in hushed tones, Tseng and Elena and that red headed woman he didn't recognize, who had turned up a few weeks previously when they'd first begun getting word of…well…of the world coming to an end. Sissy or something. _Cissnei. _That was it. She'd been one of the first to warn them about the storm.

"Cid, are the monitors working?" Cloud's voice dragged him away from his wires for a moment, and he half-turned to shrug at the approaching blonde man.

"Maybe? They were earlier but that don't mean shit around here. I yanked out a bunch of…something…" He held up a fistful of purple wires. "So they might be down. Try the switch over there. Big and grey." He pointed a gloved finger at a nearby panel and then turned back to the last few of his wires.

There was a hum of electricity, the always-recognizable non-sound of a television screen turning on, and then all the quiet talking in the room went silent. After a few seconds, Rude's voice broke the moment, as he reached up to take his sunglasses off.

"Wow."

Cid set the wires down and twisted around, intent on seeing whatever had driven the almost always calm, emotionless turk to such surprise. A large monitor screen hung on cables high above Rufus's workstation, and on it they could see the town of Kalm, a rooftop view from just inside the now-empty coastal town. Beyond the houses and the distant wall, the ocean should have stretched out for miles and miles.

Instead, there was only a massive black storm stretching from one end of the horizon to the other, and from the top of the water straight up as high as the camera could see. Inside it, lightning raged and black clouds boiled together. It was racing across the water like a giant, unstoppable wall.

"The camera is on the roof of the city's outer wall, closest to us." Elena said suddenly, her young but almost always steady voice tinged with fear. "Whatever it is, it's now covering seventy percent of the planet. And it's almost here."

Cid tore his eyes away from the image and went back to his cables, checking each one quickly before jamming them into the panel. Behind him, he could hear Reno muttering to Rude.

"This is gonna work. We're totally gonna stop it."

--

Cloud said nothing as the Turks around him began speaking to each other again, tuning out their voices as he watched the monitor that displayed the edge of Kalm, and the approaching…whatever it was. People had begun calling it the Great Storm, and he couldn't help but think the term fit. Whatever it was, wherever it had come from, it certainly looked like-

He frowned, eyes narrowing as something moved on the monitor. Not the storm, something closer…near the top of Kalm's outer wall at the far edge of the screen. "We evacuated Kalm, right?" He asked, glancing over at Tseng and the other turks.

"Yes, the day before yesterday. Kalm and Junon and Fort Condor, all the cities on the continent are empty. Everyone is here." The Turks leader confirmed, and Cloud turned back to the monitor, taking a few steps towards it and staring at the shadowy movement. He was sure it was a figure, running along the top of the wall.

"Well, _someone_ is still there." He came to a stop just under the monitor, peering up at it…and then his eyes went wide and he tugged out his phone, staring at the familiar flash of black and red on the screen.

He pressed a speed-dial and put the device to his ear, and a moment later heard the reassuring ring that meant it was still working. The figure on the wall stopped moving, and after a second someone picked up the other end of the line.

"What do you want, Cloud?" The deep, quick voice of Vincent Valentine was easy to identify, even through the static of the phones.

"Vincent, what are you doing? You need to get back to the city, you're going to be killed."

"I'm going to try Chaos. It stopped Omega, after all. It is worth a shot."

"No, it isn't. We're got the Sister Ray running, just come on home, alright? The canon can do more damage than you can."

"Sorry Cloud, I have to try. If this doesn't work, tell Shelke I'm sorry." And then the line went dead, and Cloud turned to stare at his phone. He considered calling the man back, but…he knew that he wouldn't answer.

"That's Valentine out there, huh?" Reno came up next to Cloud as the blonde man turned back to the monitor, tapping his baton against his shoulder lightly. "What's he doing?"

"He's going to try and stop it." Cloud said as he slipped his phone back into his pocket and crossed his arms again. The other Turks all came up next to the pair, their eyes glued to the screen.

Vincent was running again, and he came to a stop on the edge of the wall right in the center of the view, which was probably the center of the city. The storm was almost there, perhaps a hundred yards out to sea now, but Cloud's eyes were only on his friend. The distant red and black figure seemed to shimmer and fade, and there was a small explosion of blue and purple light…and then the winged Harbinger, Chaos, launched himself from the wall of the city and flew straight towards the storm.

Cloud was never sure exactly what sort of powers Chaos had…whatever they were, Vincent had used them to stop Omega, perhaps he was right? Maybe it could work. He found himself holding his breath, hands tensing where they were pressed into the folds of his arms.

On the screen, a circle of blue energy formed around the figure as he shot towards the storm, growing larger and larger, like a massive swirling bullet. It was perhaps a hundred yards across when it struck the front of the mass of clouds, and the whole screen exploded in blue and white energy, causing the whole group to turn their eyes away.

As the light faded, they all turned back…A chunk of Kalm's wall was gone, and a large crater stretched out where beach and ground had been, the water from the ocean pouring in…but the storm itself seemed unaffected, now almost to the shoreline.

"Damn, that looked like it worked," Elena whispered. Cloud said nothing, just staring at the spot where his friend had disappeared. The storm hit the coast, rolling across the beach and up into Kalm, buildings vanishing into the darkness. A moment later, the darkness overtook the camera, and the screen went dead.

"How much time do we have until it gets here?" The other female turk, Cessnei, asked.

"Ten minutes. Maybe."

--

"Everything is set. We can fire whenever you want." Cid called out as he plugged the last of the wires into the control panel and closed it up.

"One minute then, people! Call the fleet, let them know." Rufus called out without looking up from his panel, his fingers racing across the controls. The Shinra president had never thought he'd actually MISS Scarlet or Hiedigger, but those two had always been better with weapons than anyone he'd ever known.

But still…he was pretty sure they'd put it back together right.

--

The last of the civilians had just disappeared down into the tunnels when the distant hum of power began to roll through the city, and Tifa and Yuffie turned from where they were standing in front of the only remaining door down into the tunnels to peer up at the Sister Ray.

"They're gonna fire it!" Yuffie said, a grin on her face. "When Rufus suggested this, I thought he was crazy, but it should work!"

"I hope you're right." Tifa nodded her head. Far above them, the massive canon twitched backwards almost like a rifle, and fired, the green beam of energy lancing outwards.

--

"Everything's in the green." Cid called out, but no one was listening, all eyes intent on the distant skyline. The Storm was visible now to the naked eye, racing across the land towards them. The energy from the Sister Ray slammed into the storm, cutting through the clouds like a knife, and a moment later a hundred lasers and rockets from the airship fleet high above joined it.

For a moment, the storm seemed to slow, buckling backwards upon itself like a wave breaking against the rocks…but then it began moving again, slower than before, but steadily approaching.

"It's not working. We need to-" Reno started to speak, but Cloud suddenly lifted up a hand to stop him.

"Wait, look." He pointed out towards the broken and dead brown earth that surrounded the city.

As they watched, the long-dead soil wrenched itself apart, splintering and shattering in a dozen places, and from it burst long, streaming green strands of energy, stretching up towards the sky like strange, transparent tentacles. It surged out, a thousand feet off the ground, a wave of energy that twisted and turned and then rolled towards the storm just under the Sister Ray's beam.

_Sorry we're late._

A voice in Cloud's head, distant and familiar and sad, and the blonde man actually took a half-step backwards in surprise. "Aeris?" He whispered the word, and no one else seemed to notice.

"It's the lifestream!" Elena said, the happiness obvious in her voice. "It stopped meteor, right? It should be able to stop this!"

There were nods of agreement from some in the room, as Cid walked up to Cloud, coming to a stop next to him and tugging his cigarette from between his lips.

"You think it's her?" The gruff man asked, and Cloud just nodded his head.

The wave of green energy slammed into the storm, and the mass of black clouds reeled backwards, driven further on by the Sister Ray and the weapons from above. It seemed to buckle and surge, sliding back almost to where Kalm had stood, and then even further, showing only barren land where the town had once stood. Still, there was an almost collective sigh of relief amongst those gathered in the control room.

"It's working. I told you it would work," Reno said, a grin evident on his face. He lifted up his baton to point it towards the storm. "See? Some stupid storm can't stand up to good old shinra engine…"

Suddenly, the entire platform lurched forward, and below them the Sister Ray canon seemed to shimmer and buckle, the metal twisting and curling as if it could no longer contain the energy it was focusing. Sparks began bursting from the panels around them, and the entire group retreated back towards the far end of the platform and the elevator.

"What's happening?" Cloud shouted at Cid, but the older man just shook his head. A second later, the canon gave an almost pathetic sounding groan of metal and shut down.

"It was a miracle it worked at all," Cid said softly, and the whole group turned to watch the storm again. With the beam of energy gone, the storm was slowly collecting itself into the hole that had been cut through it. The lifeforce was still pounding against it, trying to hold it in place…but something had changed.

"We should get you to the underground, Sir." Tseng came up and took Rufus by the arm, and a moment later he and the other Turks were running back towards the platforms that could take them beneath the city, leaving Cloud and Cid standing there watching the battle between the two massive energies. The airships were still firing, but most of them had exhausted their weapons, and were even now turning back towards Midgar, intent on finding the same safety others hoped could be found underground.

"There's the Reconciliation. I better go meet Shera," Cid said, turning to follow after the Turks, and Cloud just nodded, never blinking as he watched the distant battle.

Once the others were gone, he walked to the edge of the platform, ignoring the sparking machines. When he'd seen the lifeforce emerge, he'd been relieved…but now he was just concerned. The storm was no longer approaching, but it was not retreating either. The green energy of the planet was just…holding it in check. And for how long could it do that, really?

As if queued by his thoughts, the green wave suddenly buckled backwards upon itself, splashing backwards across the land. There was a terrible shriek in Cloud's mind, the voice all too familiar, and then the black storm washed across the lifeforce and swallowed it up like everything else.

And then it was racing towards the city again, but…faster than before, much faster. Cloud turned to run, then stopped and stared at the storm. It was much too fast, he'd never even make it to the elevators. A gloved hand drew his cell phone from his pocket, and he pressed the speed-dial button for Tifa, bringing it to his ear.

He had just enough time to hear it ring, once.

--

Far below the city, Tifa was racing through the metal tunnels with Yuffie at her side. The two of them had come inside the moment the Sister Ray had shut down…they had no idea if it worked or not, but it was pointless to stand there waiting to find out. Tifa slid to a stop though when her cell rang, and tugged it out of her pocket.

The screen flashed 'Cloud' for a moment…and then switched to the 'missed call' screen, and she frowned at it.

"Tifa, we have to keep moving." Yuffie slid to a stop a bit further down the hall, spinning around on one foot to face her.

"Cloud called me…but it cut off." Tifa pressed her speed-dial, calling the blonde haired man back, but after a moment just received a steady busy signal. And even that went dead, as the screen suddenly said there was no service.

"…I don't think it worked." She said softly, closing the phone. And then suddenly the walls around them were…melting? Fading and buckling, and the floor tossed both women into the air. Far up the tunnel, there was a sound like some ancient animal roaring, and then the storm raced down the passage, enveloping them both, and everything went white.

* * *

Tifa had no idea how much time had passed when she woke up, but from the feel of the warm light beating down on her face, her mind immediately decided she wasn't in Midgar. Dead, maybe? Maybe. Brown eyes opened slowly and she sat up, wincing in pain. Every muscle in her body felt like she'd been working out for hours…she hadn't felt this sore since the early days of her training.

Still, as the pain receeded she took stock…she was sitting on a rather pretty white sand beach that bordered a long green field. Beyond it stood a massive mountain range that almost reminded her of the mountains outside Midgar, except they were too tall…and there was a massive tower of earth and stone jutting out of the side of one of the cliffs, as if it had been thrown there like a spear.

At the base of the mountain sat a smaller structure, it was hard to tell from this distance, but it looked like a large white building with a…spinning yellow ring hovering around its stop? It was like nothing she had ever seen before.

_Where am I?_

_(( Author's Note: Work in progress, obviously. Chapter 1 up in a few days, I hope. Feel free to comment! Yes, it's a crossover…no, it's not a normal crossover. I could use a decent beta reader, if anyone is interested. ))  
_


	2. Chapter 1

Brave New World

**Brave New World **

Chapter 1

Tifa could never remember a place that felt as _quiet_ as this one, wherever it was. She was walking through a long stretch of field, the grass coming up to just above the tops of her boots, but other than her footsteps, there wasn't a single sound. No people, no cars or helicopters, no insects even. It was like she was wearing earplugs and didn't know it.

"Hello?" She finally called out, and winced at the loudness of her own voice in the silence. She half-expected to hear the word bounce back to her off the nearby mountains, but after a moment decided they were too far away, and so she started walking towards the distant building again.

Halfway there she came across a small stream, the water sparkling faintly in what she thought was the morning light, but might have been evening…she had not been awake long enough to see the distant sun move much. She crouched down next to the water and reached out to run her fingers through it, then splashed some of the cold liquid on her face and took a drink from her hands, letting out a small sigh of relief.

Her reflection in the water danced as it slid by, but she could tell she looked alright…better than she felt, at least. Her brown eyes were a little sunken in, and her long brown hair could have used a shower, but nothing looked as injured as all her muscles felt. Whatever that storm had done when it had caught up to her must have been a hell of a workout.

She hoped deftly over the stream, landing with a grunt on the far side. The building was only perhaps half a mile away now, standing tall against the horizon, and the fields left between her and it were filled with an entirely different sort of grass then the other side of the stream had been. Tall and straight, it shimmered and drifted in the sunlight, almost like a green and golden grain rather than grass itself. Perfect for some creature to hide in.

Tifa reached back and unclipped her gloves from her belt, sliding her fingers into the magically reinforced leather and flexing them a few times till the fabric felt comfortable. She couldn't hear anything, she hadn't _seen_ anything, but she had been attacked unexpectedly too many times to take a chance, anymore. Once she was satisfied, she drew in a small breath and started through the field, considering the building as it rose up before her.

It was several hundreds of feet tall, but rather than the cold metal and steel that so many of the Shinra buildings were made from, seemed to be some sort of white stone, and she could see odd blue sections sprouting out in different places, balconies and windows. But the most startling thing was the giant yellow ring that hovered above the top, spinning in a slow circle around the whole structure…a ring that, even as she drew closer, did not seem to be attached to anything.

She couldn't tell if the strange symbols written upon it were for decoration or something that helped keep it up, and she came to a stop perhaps twenty five yards from the building, peering up with her hand over eyes for a few long moments, trying to make sense of it. Whatever it was and whatever it said, it was indeed attached to nothing. It was magic, more than likely, but not like anything she had seen before. Magic was for fighting, not for…architecture.

She grass was much neater at the edge of the building, trimmed down almost to the dirt, and her boots crunched against it and the ground as she circled the building until she found a large gated entranceway. The gate itself was shattered, chunks of the heavy metal frame scattered across the nearby stones and grass, the only half still attacked to the wall hanging at an odd angle on two broken hinges. Whatever had done that had been strong.

There was a golden plaque resting on the stonework a few feet from the entrance, and Tifa made her way over to it, and was surprised to find it was written in a language she could understand!

Welcome to Balamb Garden.

SEED Academy and Military Base

"A Strong Weapon for a Dangerous World."

_What is a SEED Academy?_

Tifa looked over at the gate again. If it was a military base, the damage could have been from some sort of recent attack. But it looked more like it had been torn up rather than blown up or shot out. It made her think of the damage from when WEAPON had torn up Junon, like a wild animal.

She considered ignoring it all, the gate and the building, and just walking around it, seeing if she could keep going past the mountains and find anything else. But it was here, and…from the silence, probably as empty as everything else. And even if there was a monster here, the creatures she had a problem fighting on her own were few and far between…

Her footsteps echoed on the stone ground as she moved up to the front gate and reached out to press her gloved hand against the part of the gate that was still standing. It gave immediately, but after she'd pushed it open only a few inches, it ripped the rest of the way from the wall with a metallic shriek and collapsed, the noise echoing throughout the nearby building.

Tifa froze as the last of the sound faded away, listening for any evidence that something had heard the commotion and was coming to investigate. But there was nothing…no alarms, no rushing footsteps, no shouts. Just the silence, still. After a count of thirty she let herself relax and stepped carefully through the remains of the gate, picking her way over each bit of metal until she was past, and found herself at the base of a small set of stairs that led into a long, empty stretch of stonework, and beyond it a set of turnstiles that probably led into the heart of the building.

Pushing aside the last of her thoughts of turning back, Tifa started into Balamb Garden.

--

_"Squall, I have to try! Nothing else has worked. The sorceress power inside me is all we have left."_

_"You can't control it, Rinoa. You don't know what will happen if you do this."_

_"Of course I do. We don't have any other options, so if I do this, I might die, and if I _don't _do this, I'll definitely die. Now let me go."_

_"You may not die. We don't even know what the storm does!"_

_"Yes we do, it destroys everything. We haven't heard a single thing from Galbadia in weeks, or from Esther! And you heard what your father said before the transmission cut off. The storm eats _everything._ What else can I do?"_

_"…Fine. Go. But the rest of us are coming with you. We'll summon all the Guardian Forces we have."_

_"Deal. And..Squall…."_

_"What is it?"_

_"If I…if I start to become like…like Ultimicia, you'll…stop me, right?"_

_"You won't."_

_"But if I do?"_

_"I'll stop you. I promise."_

Rinoa awoke with a shout of surprise, sitting up quickly and staring around, her dark eyes wide and staring. _What was…?_ She and the others had gone out to…to what? To stop that storm thing. She had...she had drawn out all of her power, she'd felt those beautiful white wings of hers appear, and then…they'd all summoned their powers, and she'd used her magic and…it hadn't even slowed down. It had rolled right over them like they weren't even there, and she'd felt herself fading…she'd thrown a shield around herself, a desperate spell she hadn't even been aware she knew, something from the sorceress memories, and the storm had thrown her up into the sky…

And now she was here. She recognized the Balamb Garden control room, the quiet hums and clicks of the various panels a familiar and somehow reassuring noise. But how had she gotten here?

She gathered her arms and legs beneath her and pushed slowly up onto her feet, twisting around. She was on the lower level of the control room, with the elevator up to the piloting booth behind her…and past it, the massive glass windows, but they were partially shattered, the morning light streaming through the new hole and reflecting prism-like rainbows on the floor. Outside, the scene was very different then she remembered, the long stretch of desert where they had finally stopped running from the storm had been replaced by several large fields, and running alongside a mountain range, with an unfamiliar tower jutting out the side. _Where?_

Long legs carried Rinoa over to the hole, she reached a hand out to touch it, and noticed the scratches on her palms and forearms, and then the bits of dried blood on the edges of the glass.

She'd fallen through here, at some point, and guarded herself with her arms and hands, but she didn't remember it at all! Two quick steps to the left let her stare at her reflection in the glass. Her shoulder-length black hair was a bit messed, and her blue and black clothing was torn in several places, but other than a few more small cuts on her knees, she seemed fine. Tired, sore, but fine.

So, had the shield saved her, or had the storm just left her here? And where was everyone else?

She spun around and darted back to the elevator, sliding into it and slapping the button that would send her up to the piloting area, and the observation tools that went with it. At the top, most of the controls were dark, but after a few moments of pressing buttons, she was able to bring up the small bay of internal and external monitors. Each flick of the observation switch brought up six more cameras…outside was deserted, as was each section of the garden she checked. Dorms, cafeteria, training, library, entranc-

Just as she was flipping off the entrance camera, she caught a glimpse of movement, something stepping into view from off-screen, and cursed to herself as the system switched to the next set of cameras. She quickly flashed through the rest of the sequence until she was back at the first, in time to see a dark-haired woman she did not recognize crouch down to examine one of large gashes in the wall that had been created when a first-year student had lost control of his guardian force several days previously. It had taken them almost an hour to contain the beast without killing it, and it had injured several people and done a lot of damage to the entranceway and gate area.

But none of that mattered right now. Her friends were gone, _Squall is gone, _and instead some stranger was trespassing in their school, walking around like she owned the place. Well, that was _not_ going to last much longer. She'd stop by the second floor armory to get a weapon, since her disk-launcher was not here in the control room, and then go find out what the hell was going on.

--

The turnstiles led Tifa to another entranceway, with scattered paths that moved deeper into the building. There were more signs of conflict here, a weapon dropped on the floor and left where it lay, a large scratch, like a cat claw dozens of times larger, ripped through a white wall.

She crouched down to examine the gash, reaching out to trace her gloved finger across one of the claw-indents, but it didn't remind her of any animal she had fought before. It must have been gigantic, at least the size of one of those creatures they could call through material, but it had left no trace besides the damage it had done here and elsewhere. She'd seen no scales or blood or a body, just…debris.

Pushing back to her feet, she turned to consider the flickering map that stood in the middle of the large entrance plaza. It wasn't staying on, from the looks of it part of the mechanism had been damaged, but she could see locations for a cafeteria, a training center, a control room and a library, amongst others. The control room was probably her best bet, if she was going to find anyone here. It was where she would have holed up, if stuck in a place like this all alone.

She wasn't quite willing to admit that no one else was here, though. Surely a massive building like this couldn't be _completely_ abandoned. Not without a bit more evidence then she had found. The front gates probably would have been more open, and there would be warning alarms or some-such on the screens she had passed.

Tifa traced her black-gloved finger tip along the map from where she was to where the control room was…several floors above her, it seemed. But she had seen elevators behind her, at the top of a small set of stairs, and so she started up them now, pausing for a moment before reaching out to press the up-button.

Not five seconds later the doors hissed open, but instead of the empty car she was expecting, Tifa found herself facing down the tip of a wicked looking sword, that almost looked like it had a gun for a handle. A black-haired, baby-faced woman was holding it, and she took a step forward, forcing Tifa back ontop the stairs behind her.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" The woman nearly hissed the question at Tifa, shaking the sword in a vaguely threatening manner. Judging from the way she was holding the blade, Tifa was pretty sure the other wasn't actually familiar with using it, that it had probably been the first convienant weapon she had found before coming to find her. But that didn't make it any less deadly.

Of course, Tifa could probably move around any swing of the blade and disarm the other, but for now she decided to just go with the moment. Perhaps this woman had some idea what was going on? Or she had found herself here just as randomly as Tifa had.

"I…my name is Tifa Lockheart," Tifa held up her gloved hands in a non-threatening manner, palms out and facing the woman. "I woke up on the beach a couple miles back that way, and walked here." She pointed one thumb back over her shoulder without turning. "It was the only building in sight." She kept her gaze level on the other as she said this, considering her best option for attack.

--

Rinoa didn't much like using gunblades, but it had been the only weapon in the armory that felt immediately threatening and that she was even remotely familiar with. Squall had shown her how to swing it and fire it a few times, although she had been paying more attention to him then to the weapon, at the time.

And then she'd gone down to confront the intruder…although now that she had, the woman seemed just as lost as Rinoa felt. Even if she was absolutely sure the other was dangerous, from the way she was standing and holding herself. She reminded her a lot of Zell, really.

"You woke up on the beach? What do you mean?" Rinoa took another step forward, lowering the tip of the gunblade to make sure it remained level with Tifa's head as she backed further down the stairs. "Where are we? How did you move the Garden here?"

Tifa blinked a few times and lowered her hands back down to her sides, and Rinoa realized she really was bombarding the other with questions. "I…didn't move this…'Garden' anywhere. It was here when I got here, I guess. I was running from the storm, and we couldn't stop it, and then I was here. Just like that. I don't know where we are, either."

"The storm? You mean you survived it? How?" Rinoa frowned, lowering the blade a bit further without noticing. However this woman had survived, perhaps she could use it to find the others. Or figure out what had happened "And where did you face it? Galbadia? Esther? You don't look like you're from Esther."

The other woman said nothing to these questions, just staring up at her as she took another step backwards towards the ground. Her eyes were a bit wider than before, as though she were realizing something unpleasant. "I…have no idea what any of those places are. I'm from Neibelheim, and I was just in Midgar when the storm got to us." She drew in a breath and slipped her hands behind her back. "Do you know about those places?"

From the way Tifa asked the question, Rinoa got the impression the woman thought she already knew the answer. But after a moment she shook her head, and lowered the gunblade down a bit more, though she kept her tight grip on the handle. "I've never heard of either of them." It was an odd thing to admit, really. "And I've been to every city in the world."

"So have I. But I've never heard of the places _you_ mentioned either. So what does that mean?" Tifa's usually kind features faded into a frown as she ran the problem around in her mind.

"We aren't from the same world. Or maybe just the same time?" It was odd that Rinoa found the concept of time travel easier to accept than multiple worlds, but really…what was more likely? She'd already traveled through time at least twice. Or more if you tried to understand whatever Ultimicia's Time Compression spell had done.

"Maybe," Tifa shrugged her shoulders, and it seemed she was having just as much issue with that idea as Rinoa did. "But I'd remember this place if I'd seen it before, and I'm sure you would remember Midgar if you had been there. _Everyone_ remembers Midgar." She had half-turned away as she said this, and now her gaze settled back on Rinoa. "Think you could maybe point that sword somewhere else, please? I'm not going to attack you."

Rinoa blinked twice, uncertain what the woman meant, and then stared at the sword in her hands as though she had forgotten it was there. "Oh! Sorry." Her arm dropped down to her side, the tip of the long blade tapping against the floor. "Just had too many odd things happen, not very good at trusting people."

"It's alright," Tifa offered her a bit of a smile and shook her head, a few strands of her long hair scattering about her face. "I know how you feel. So do you recognize any of this place or the stuff outside?"

"This is Balamb Garden, it's where I live," Rinoa waved her arm and the sword around vaguely, as if indicating the building surrounding them. "But the mountains outside and that tower are new. This isn't even where we landed when the storm-" She was cut off suddenly by a massive explosion of sound from outside of the building, like someone had just tried to slam one mountain into another. There was no movement, no vibration, just the sound, growing louder and louder with each passing second.

The two women exchanged startled glances, and then as one took off towards the front of the school.

--

As they reached the front of the school, both women picking their way over the wreckage of the front gate, they found themselves staring at what looked like a smaller version of the black storm that had consumed both their worlds. It was maybe the size of the building they were standing in, and was running along the side of the mountain, whirling around like a contained tornado, sucking up everything it passed. Rocks, boulders, even sections of the mountain itself were ripped up into the storm only to disappear into the black clouds.

"What is it doing?" Rinoa asked, and Tifa just shook her head as she watched, uncertain how to answer. "It's much smaller."

"It doesn't seem to be coming this way, but…maybe we should run…" Tifa said quietly, her eyes narrowing as she watched the mass of moving clouds scour up the cliffs. It was headed straight for the metal and stone tower that was sticking out of the mountains at a sharp angle.

"No, look," Rinoa pointed the sword at the tower, and as they watched, the storm slammed into it, enveloping the building in darkness. And then it stopped there, hovering over the now invisible tower before slowly dissipating up into the sky. As it faded away, there was only a massive hole stuck in the side of the cliff face where the tower had stood moments before. No debris, no visible signs of damage, the tower was just gone.

"It…did the storm take it away? Or destroy it?" Rinoa finally asked as the last of the noise faded into silence, and the air all around them stilled.

"I don't know. Maybe that's what it did to this place? And me?" Tifa wasn't even sure what she was asking, but it made sense in a twisted sort of way. If the storm could move things, it was possible it had moved both her and this garden place here from other places. Other worlds? It was a hard concept to wrap her mind around.

Rinoa didn't respond, just staring at the spot where the tower had vanished. "I don't know either. But if you're right, it could have done that to other people too. Other places. They could be just over the mountains for all we know."

"Or on the other side of the planet," Tifa added, feeling a remarkable amount of pessimism welling up inside of her. If the storm could move buildings across worlds, then…there was no telling what else it could do. For all they knew, the two women might have been the only people anywhere.

"Maybe, but maybe not. Come on, we can try to see if we can reach anyone?" Rinoa started back into the building.

"Reach anyone?" Tifa asked as she turned to follow the blue-clad woman.

"You'll see!"

--

Rinoa led the other through the school and up into the Garden's control room again, stopping in front of the massive bank of controls that dictated all the various things that the mechanical school could do. She plopped down in front of one of them and began flicking various switches, trying to remember everything that Quistis had explained about how to use them.

"There's a sort of…magical radio, here." Rinoa said as she tapped at the buttons, trying to decide what to scan for first. "It could reach all the way around our world, no matter what the weather conditions. We could talk to Esther from Galbadia, even!" She turned to the other, as though waiting for her to be impressed, but Tifa just sort of shrugged at her. "Oh, right, not that you would know how far that is. Well…it's far, trust me." She gave a little grin, feeling a bit better, honestly. Maybe it was just the fact that she had something to do, someone to talk to, that was helping to improve her mood. She wasn't completely alone, that had to count for something.

"Kind of like a cell phone," Tifa said, her hand slipping into her pocket to fish her own phone out, but it was still displaying the 'no service' message she had seen just before the storm had hit her. "Well, a cell phone that works."

"If you say so," Rinoa glanced at the little machine for a moment, then back to the controls, finally pressing a bright red button and pulling a nearby microphone to her lips. "This is Balamb Garden to anyone who can hear me, please respond. We have survived the…the…" She frowned, glancing up at Tifa and then putting a hand over the mic. "What do we call this storm thing?"

"Uhm," Tifa shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "The storm? The Black Storm, maybe?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes and then turned back to the mic. "We have survived the Black Storm, if anyone else is still out there, please, respond." She leaned back in her seat and waited, staring at all the dials and controls that would sparkle to life when someone returned their call. Ten seconds, twenty, fifty, a minute…and she slumped a little in her seat. "Maybe their radio just doesn't work."

"Or they aren't out there. Or they don't _have_ a radio," Tifa added, uncertain if she was trying to be realistic or reassuring. "Maybe we should just go out and start looking, do you guys have any cars or-"

The lights on the control suddenly shimmered to life, and the room was filled with a thick, unpleasant staticy sound. Rinoa grabbed at the receiver and shoved the volume up as high as she could. "Hello? Hello?"

There was a long pause in the white noise, and then she thought she could almost make out a sound, a deeply distorted voice pushing through. If only she knew how to clean up the transmission like she had seen Xu do on any number of occasions.

"…bzzzrt…is…hello? I am-strrrrrt…found…a…….zrrrrrrn-ing….igar…ship…need assi…" The voice was probably male, and cut off briefly at a loud noise in the background, almost like an explosion, and for several seconds there was nothing. "…leas…cannot help…yone?!" ZORT With a crackling of static and a spark that arced across the panel, the transmission cut off.

Both women stared at the control panel, as if willing the transmission to return, but after thirty seconds it was obvious the silence was the only answer they were going to get.

"Can you find out where that was coming from?" Tifa leaned past Rinoa, tapping her gloved fingers across the controls, and Rinoa had to lightly bat them away as she tried to remember which buttons would do that.

"I…think so?" She flicked several switches, and a readout sprang to life at the top, displaying a set of directional numbers and distance information that didn't make any sense to Rinoa. "I…they're all wrong, like the machine is confused, but I am _pretty_ sure that it came from about thirty miles north of here, past the mountains."

"Thirty miles. Alright. Do you have an airship?" Tifa leaned back from the controls, pressing the fingers of her right hand into her left, which Rinoa guessed was an nervous habit. Maybe she was just happy to have something to focus on. "Or even an off-road car?"

Rinoa grinned and shook her head. "No, but we have something even better." Rinoa slid out of her chair, shooing Tifa to the side as she skidded over to the piloting controls. "Now, I haven't had to do this by myself, but I do know how." Her hands darted over the controls, feeling the deep thrum of initializing engines far below them.

"Do what?" Tifa came up next to her, reaching out to press a hand into a nearby pipe to steady herself as the entire structure shook. "The building feels like it's moving."

"Moving nothing. It's going to _fly_." Rinoa gave a wicked looking grin and threw the ignition switch. There was a deep, resounding throb that shook the entire building, and then it stopped, there was a sound like a large machine powering down, and then silence.

"Fly, huh?" Tifa raised a dark eyebrow and looked outside. "It doesn't do it very well."

"It usually does," Rinoa frowned and tapped the key that Xu used to run diagnostics, and after a moment a schematic popped up on the screen with a flashing area of pipe circled, and a large X through it. Rinoa tapped at it for a moment, pressed a couple of keys, and then turned to Tifa.

"Someone needs to go reroute that fuel line. How are you in a fight?"

Tifa just smiled, "Not bad. Why?"

Turning back to the panel, Rinoa reached under it and tugged out a radio headset, tossing it to the brunette. "There used to be monsters down below the school, I don't know if they stuck around when everything else disappeared. I'll walk you through where to go."

--

"You know, it just occurred to me that I have no idea what your name is," Tifa spoke in half-whispers through the headset as she stepped out of the Balamb elevator and into the bowls of the garden. Pipes and walkways stretched out before her, a maze of metal and wire that really reminded her of the tunnels beneath Midgar.

"I'm Rinoa Heartlily, follow the blue lights," came the other woman's slightly static-filled voice through the headset, and above Tifas head a string of blue lights blinked to life, leading off through the tunnels to the west.

"Well, it is nice to meet you, Rinoa." Tifa said as she started after the blinking lights, one head tilted to the side to listen for any noises that meant the monsters Rinoa had warned her about were around.

"You too. Stop at the end of the blue path and tell me if there's a yellow light on the wall? The panel says there should be but I can't tell if it's working or not."

"Alright," Tifa picked her way through the silent maze of metal until she found the terminal, tapping at it. "There are two yellow lights, not one. So what sort of monsters are down here, anyway?

"Uhm," there was a pause, and Tifa thought she could hear the sound of switches being thrown. "Some monsters that spit oil, and some fire bugs that eat the machinery. Tell me if one of the lights go out." The panel suddenly sparked twice and Tifa bounced backwards, holding her hands up to protect her face.

When the sparking stopped, Tifa lowered her face and sighed. "Now both lights are out."

"Damn it, hold on," Rinoa went silent for a few moments, and Tifa turned to survey the area around her. The blue lights stopped where she was, but a few running lights along her feet revealed several paths leading deeper into the bowls of the machinery. Until she had come down here, she hadn't really believed that the massive building was really going to take off, but from the size and scope of all this machinery, it was certainly possible. It reminded her of the machinery they used to move the Sister Ray, really. And that had been at least as big as this.

Behind her, she heard the familiar tinged ring of a light bulb coming to life, and turned to see the top yellow light flickering to life. "Alright, one yellow light on," she said, pressing the headset into her ear.

"Oh, really? Well, good! Back to following the blue lights." Rinoa seemed oddly cheerful as she said this, and Tifa had a hunch the girl was not as good with all these machines as she was pretending. One of the paths Tifa had been looking at before was suddenly bathed in the blue glow from another row of lightbulbs.

"It shouldn't be too far," Rinoa's voice continued to accompany Tifa as she picked her way through the machines. "We're just looking for a break in one of the energy lines so we can bypass it."

"What's this place run on, anyway?" Tifa asked as she stopped to consider a small leap in the path before tossing herself across it.

"No idea, really. Magical something-or-other, plus oil. Xu explained it to me once but I wasn't really listening." Rinoa sounded bored just thinking about it, and Tifa could imagine.

"We used to have a power source called Mako, back home. It was magical energy too, but it turned out it was actually like…souls. Spirit energy. There was a big battle before we stopped using it."

"Oh, well, I don't think we have anything quite like that, really. I'm not actually sure, but no one has ever said it was bad. Sometimes we have to go to Esther to refuel though, because it's hard to-"

"Quiet, hold on." Tifa hissed into the microphone as the silence of the machines was broken by a sort of…hissing slurp noise, like a drunkard at her bar on his twelfth drink of the night. She ducked down, moving forward slowly.

"What is it? You should be coming up on the fuel break," Rinoa spoke in a whisper, and even that felt too loud as Tifa snuck her way around the next corner, and into a larger, almost round with a tower in the center that was covered in shattered windows and broken control panels. And off to the side of the room, stretched out across a dozen wires and pipes, was the largest white slug that Tifa had ever seen, oil dripping out from underneath it onto puddles on the floor. The slurping noise was definitely coming from the beast.

"The…the oil creatures you mentioned before, are they large, white, slug-looking things?" Tifa kept her mouth and the microphone hidden behind her hand to muffle the sound as she watched the beast, but it seemed so intent on its meal that it probably wouldn't have noticed her anyway.

"Yeah, why? Are they down there?"

"Well, there's one at least, but it's…big. Twenty feet long, at least. It's eating your fuel line."

"Oh wow, it must have been down there a while. None of them were that big when we got the engines running the first time." Rinoa sounded distant again. "Do you think you can kill it?"

"Probably. Give me a minute, I'm going to take my headset off." Tifa reached up to tug the radio off and fold it up, tucking it into the front pocket of her apron as she started out into the large room, her brown eyes settled on the creature. If it was full of oil, fire would have been her best bet…except she'd probably end up lighting all the other oil on fire too, and blowing up the whole school. She wasn't even sure what other material she had, honestly, or even if it would all work here.

So instead she just balled her hands into fists, and charged.

Two messy minutes later, Tifa felt the satifying squish as she shoved her boot through the slug creatures brain, and it let out an almost plaintive squeal before flopping dead to the floor beneath her. The room was bathed in oil and goo now, and she could feel the ooze on her clothes and in her hair. But the pipe was clear now, and didn't even seem to have a hole it in. However the creatures was siphoning the liquid away, it hadn't done any permanent damage.

She wiped her gloves off on the front of her skirt and then tugged the headset bac out and slipped it onto her ear. "Rinoa?"

"Hey! You okay?" Rinoa sounded a bit concerned, and Tifa couldn't blame her. It was probably a frightening thought to be all alone in this world, after they'd found each other.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just kind of messy, and I really need a shower," Tifa had a bit of a grin on her face, like she always did after a fight. "Try the machine again."

"Alright, hold on." Rinoa disappeared from the line for a few moments, and then suddenly many of the machines around Tifa sprung to life, lights and rings and clangs, and a deep thrum shook the floor beneath her and almost knocked Tifa off her feet. She had to grab onto the wall behind her until the vibrations steadied themselves.

"Alright, it's working!" Tifa could actually hear the grin in Rinoa's voice when the other returned. "The blue lights will lead you back out."

--

Rinoa's mood was easing up now that she could feel the familiar vibrations of Garden's flight engines echoing through the room, and she slid her chair from one panel to the next as she tried to run the ship through all the pre-flight checks that she remembered. Everything seemed to be fine now that the fuel line was working again.

"Is everything working?" Tifa's voice echoed through the control area, and Rinoa glanced back to see the woman stepping off the elevator, and trying to ring spots of oil out of her long brown hair.

"I think so. We'll know in a minute, anyway." Rinoa pushed out of her chair and over to the steerage control. "You may want to hold onto something, though." She called back to the other as she set one hand on the massive wheel, and then pressed the final ignition switch down along the side.

The entire building lurched beneath their feet, and then high above the massive yellow ring that circled the tower began to lower itself down, fading through the metal and stone of the outer sections of the school and then vanishing into the ground beneath them. And as it pushed down, it shoved Balamb up into the air, the entire structure hauling itself into the sky.

Once enough of the building had freed itself from the ground, the shuddering faded back into the familiar background vibration of the flight engines, and Rinoa allowed herself to relax. Now that Balamb was actually in the air, it would be a lot easier to keep it there. Provided they weren't attacked or anything, of course.

Tifa came up next to the other woman, her gloved hands back to trying to push as much of the oil from her hair, and Rinoa winced as droplets of it splattered on the control room floor. "So how long will it take us to get to where the transmission came from?

Rinoa frowned at the controls before her, and then spun the wheel, slowly turning the Garden towards the north. "I don't know. Maybe an hour or so?"

"Alright, then point me in the direction of the nearest shower, _please._"

_(( Thus endeth chapter 1, and we leave the girls to enjoy their short flight! Soon, chapter 2, which may follow Tifa and Rinoa, or switch to some of our other, so far unknown heroes…. So, review! Good review, bad review, I take them all! It's just nice to know people are reading. Keeps me motivated! ))_


	3. Chapter 2

Brave New World

**Brave New World**

Chapter 2

_Ch-cha…ch-cha-ch-cha…ch-cha…_

Aeris could hear the noise, it reminded her of something, something she hadn't heard in a very long time…it was soothing almost, a rhythmic, distant click of metal passing over metal, accompanied by a steady, constant vibration that shuddered through the floor beneath her. _I'm on a train?_

The thought seemed to jar her prone body into action and she slowly gathered her arms and legs up beneath her, feeling soft, almost fuzzy carpet against her palms, lifting herself up into a kneeling position with muscles that creaked and groaned from disuse. As her green eyes opened, she winced in pain at the soft line from several swinging chandeliers high above her. The light was stingingly painful, and she brought her arm up to cover her…

Wait.

_Ch-cha…ch-cha-ch-cha…ch-cha…_

Despite the pain, she found herself staring at the pale arm that she was holding in front of her eyes, a shiver of terror flashing through her mind and down her spine. It was her arm, she recognized the freckles and the tiny mole below her elbow. But…what? Why did this seem so wrong? Why did seeing her arm scare her so thoroughly.

_You're dead, dummy._

The quiet voice in her mind pointed this out, and everything suddenly came back to her like a tidal wave, causing her to slump backwards onto her heels, both pale hands covering her eyes. The Forgotten City, Sephiroth stabbing her, the life stream, repelling Meteor…and then years of quiet rest, watching the world above, talking to Zack when his spirit found her...and then the Storm had come, she'd felt it cause the planet to shudder and scream, and she'd rallied the life stream to stop it.

…And then she was here. And…alive? But…

_Ch-cha…ch-cha-ch-cha…ch-cha…_

Hands were slowly lowered from her face, and she pressed two of her fingers into her wrist, feeling for her long forgotten pulse. _Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump…_ There it was, a bit fast but that was understandable considering she felt terrified. And her skin felt warm…she felt warm, soft, alive. The fact that every muscle in her body _hurt_ probably should've been a clue as well.

Very slowly she pushed herself to her feet and took careful stock. Two arms, two legs, torso, head, fingers…she was dressed in the pink jeans jumper she'd been wearing when Sephiroth stabbed her, it even had a hole in the front where the sword had burst out of her. Fingers carefully probed the gab in the fabric but found only undamaged skin beneath. She had those big brown boots of hers, also, but her hairtie was gone, her long brown hair hanging loose down her back, and feeling somehow heavier than she remembered.

Okay, so, she was essentially whole. And in what looked like the rear car of a train, a rather old fashioned looking train, and the noise she was hearing were the metal wheels passing quickly over the tracks beneath. The car was actually very fancy, with red carpeting and black walls and a painting on the wall of what Aeris assumed was a king eating on the train. There weren't any seats here, just a door leading into a large, empty employee booth. But no people, at least not on this car.

Quick footsteps carried her over to one of the windows to peer out through the glass. They were passing through a dark forest, though she could see scattered sunbeams forcing their way through the canopy. She didn't recognize the woods, but that didn't mean anything, there were many places she hadn't..

Hurk!

A pain shot through her stomach and chest suddenly, and she grabbed at the wall to steady herself. It almost felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach, and now she felt very, very ill. So ill she could barely contain herself, and after a moment she pushed herself away from the wall and bent over double, wretching all over the red carpet floor.

Whatever she was throwing up tasted rotten and foul, and it steamed as it hit the carpet. It made her feel worse somehow, and yet she couldn't stop, spending almost a minute there wretching before she felt empty, backing slowly away from the puddle. She managed to stay upright, staring at the mess that had come out of her, for about a minute before she teetered backwards and slumped to the floor against the opposite wall, out cold.

_Ch-cha…ch-cha-ch-cha…ch-cha…_

--

"Are you alright, child?"

The voice was old, male, friendly, and it pulled Aeris from her unconsciousness, her eyes opening slowly, a grimace settling on her face at the terrible taste in her mouth. Kneeling next to her was an older man with grey hair and a beard, a concerned smile on his face. "I…I think so, I was just a little…sick." Aeris answered softly, glancing over at where she had vomited earlier and then looking away.

"Ah, yes…" The old man glanced over at the puddle as well and shook his head. "It happened to me, too, after I woke up. I think it's some kind of…physical reaction to not being dead anymore." He stood up, resting one knotted hand against the wall of the train. "I can't be sure though, but you'll feel better in a minute."

Aeris just stared up at him, her mouth agape. "Wait, you were dead too?" She whispered the question, and then frowned and half-twisted around, pressing both her hands into the wall and using it to steady herself as she rose slowly to her own feet, wobbling faintly.

"Hey, slow down there. You should sit down until you're sure of yourself." the old man reached out to place a hand on Aeris's shoulder to help her. "Yes, I was dead. For years, I think, I can't be sure. I am called Galuf, the King of Bal." He smiled jokingly. "Well, former King, I suppose. My daughter would have taken over for me by now."

_He's a king?! _Aeris couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes, staring at the man. He didn't look much like a king, dressed in a fighting Gi that reminded her of the people in Yuffie's hometown, no fancy jewelry, no crown save the headband he was wearing. And yet there was something in his eyes that told her he wasn't lying. Even if she had never heard of Bal. "I'm…Aeris. I'm just a flower girl from Midgar." She turned and leaned her shoulder against the wall, letting her eyes close for a moment as she tried to readjust to the movement of the train and her tired body.

"Nothing wrong with being a flower girl, Aeris," Galuf released her shoulder and took a few steps away, glancing around the empty car. "One of the greatest heroes I ever met was just a jobless wanderer. So you're a step ahead, hmm?" He chuckled, and Aeris couldn't help but smile.

"I suppose so," Aeris responded, and then to give herself something to focus on she reached back and gathered up all her long hair, pulling the thick mass over her shoulder to hang down the front of her body, fingers running through it, wincing as she forced the knots out of the tangled mess. "Do you know where we are?" A change of subject.

"No." Galuf shook his head, turning back to her. "Just a train. The back few cars are empty, far as I can tell. I haven't been to the front yet." As he spoke, he walked over to peer into the empty employee room. "I thought I saw some movement two cars ahead but then I heard you getting sick, actually." He leaned back out and looked over at her. "Are you steady enough to come with me while I go forward?"

"Well, I'm not staying here," she said with a little smile, pushing slowly off the wall and wobbling for just a moment before she finally felt steady. Her hands continued to mess with her hair, finally forcing out all the tangles. And then she began slowly rebraiding it. "And I think I'm feeling much better now. Still pretty sore though.

"Good." Galuf turned and headed towards the next car.

--

Despite the opulence of the train, as Aeris and Galuf traveled through the cars Aeris had to admit the place seemed to be in a state of disrepair. The decorations were all quiet beautiful, but it was in an old, faded sort of way. The colors weren't as sharp as they should have been, the fabrics were all frayed about the edges, the ornate carvings in the wall had been worn down at every sharp edge.

"I wonder how old this place is," Aeris said, mostly to herself, as she reached out to trace her finger over the edges of one of the decorations. It felt brittle beneath her fingers, and some of the paint fell away like dust as she lifted her finger from it.

"Old. Older than any other machine I've really seen," Galuf answered from where he was standing near the door into the next car, peering through the slightly foggy glass. "The technology to make something like this is only perhaps twenty years, and yet this is…so much older." He shook his head, as if he were trying to solve some puzzle that was just out of reach. "And it feels…empty, have you noticed? There should be workers and engineers and yet…nothing." He pushed the door to the next car open.

"Except us," Aeris moved to follow him, hands returning to the task of braiding her hair. She was about to follow him through when a flash of yellow against the red carpet caught her attention, and she turned to peer between two of the large benches that walled the car. A piece of paper, perhaps six inches wide, was caught against the curled metal hook at the bottom of a chair leg. "Hold on, Galuf."

She pushed her half-finished braid over her shoulder and then crouched down between the seats, plucking the paper carefully out and uncrumpling it as she stood back up. The text was a faded grey color that had probably once been black, but it was still legible. As Aeris looked at it, she began reading aloud to her new companion.

_**Welcome to the Phantom Train**_

_We endeavor to make your time with us as pleasant as possible, _

_and promise a swift journey to the hereafter. Reading materials are_

_available in the rear car, and food may be requested at any time in the _

_central dining car._

_If you have any questions, a member of the_

_staff can assist you. For more informa_

"It's torn off there," Aeris said as she handed the paper over to Galuf and lowered herself carefully onto the seat in front of her, pulling her hair back over her shoulder, uncertain what to think about the torn piece of pamphlet. _A train to the hereafter._ "So does this mean we are still dead?" She finally asked, as her fingers returned to their braiding task. "I don't feel dead."

"Neither do I," Galuf folded the bit of paper up and tucked it into his pocket, frowning. "Everything hurts too much for me to be dead." He added with a reassuring smile. "So let's assume we aren't, for the sake of argument. If this train is going to…what…heaven; then we need to get off it."

Aeris nodded her head, then turned to peer out the window. "We can't just jump off, though…the train is going much too fast. We would need to stop it." Aeris suddenly found herself wishing Cid was there. Despite his foul mouth and constant smoking, the engineer was absolutely brilliant with machines. He could have stopped this train in a heartbeat. "I have no idea how to do that." She added after a moment.

"Me either, but we can figure it out. Best bet is probably the front of the train, where the engine should be." Galuf turned back to the door he had opened earlier and moved into the next car, and Aeris followed a few moments later.

--

"I've never been on such an empty train," Aeris found herself saying a few moments later, as the two stood in the center of what must have originally been the trains Central Dining Car. However, now there was only a single table in the center of the room with three chairs around it, and three empty plates in the center. "I mean, there should be…something. Someone. The trains in Midgar were always crowded, even in the middle of the night."

"What is Midgar? I have never heard of it." Galuf asked as he moved over to the solitary table, reaching out to pick up one of the plates and turn it over in his hands.

"Well, I've never heard of Bal, so we're even," Aeris went over to one of the large windows and peered out at the passing forest again. "It's a giant city, about a mile across, made mostly from metal and machines. There were little slum communities underneath and a big fancy town held up by girders above them, blocking out the sun." She sighed. "I never thought I'd miss something like that, but…I guess I do."

"It sounds quite awful," Galuf said as he set the plate back down. "I haven't seen too many large scale machines, to be honest, but I can't imagine living inside a giant one."

"Well…I don't know. It was home." She smiled just a tad and turned back to him. "It doesn't matter, it's mostly gone now. We couldn't save most of it from a disaster. We should keep going." Aeris found herself changing the subject once more, and inwardly frowned at herself. She usually rather liked talking, especially trying to voice problems and deal with things, and yet she didn't want to dwell on her old life at all. It was just…hard, right then. She had a feeling it was the sort of thing she was never going to go back to, and…well…even death hadn't felt quite as final as this, somehow.

"Right, right," Galuf watched her for a moment, and Aeris could see the concern in his eyes but she tried to ignore it, and a moment later he turned and started towards the next door with her trailing along.

"Did you wish to eat?"

The voice came from behind them, and they both whirled around in surprise, Galuf with his hands up ready for a fight. Standing on the far side of the small table in the center of the room was a short, bald man dressed in a ratty looking tuxedo, his hands folded calmly behind his back, his eyes watching them both with the type of vague disinterest that only people in the service industry could manage.

"Where did you come from?" Galuf demanded, taking a few steps forward and placing himself between Aeris and the newcomer.

The man seemed puzzled by the question. "I am always here. Did you wish to eat?" He repeated the question in the same tone as before, and Aeris found herself frowning as she watched him.

"Hold on, Galuf," she pushed her hair back over her shoulder and then stepped around the older man, moving towards the table and the tuxedoed man. "What do you mean, you are always here? Were you here a few minutes ago? Who are you?"

The man frowned at her, "I was in the kitchens upstairs, ensuring the preparations of all meals. I am the concierge, and this is my dining car. I am always somewhere within the dining car."

Aeris seemed to think about this for a moment. "And there were others with you? In the kitchens, I mean."

"Of course, the staff is very focused, they rarely turn from their duties unless they must. Why do you ask me these things? They are unimportant. Do you wish to eat?" There was more urgency in the question now, and he took a step towards her. "I assure you, our food is rated quite highly. No other means of traveling through the veil will provide you with as wonderful a repast as we shall."

Aeris decided to play along, as best she could, really, while trying to get some information out of the man. "Is it safe? We don't really seem to be…dead. Which is kind of a requirement for this train, I would think." Also, she found she _was _rather hungry. Years of being dead and then tossing up the remains of a long abandoned meal would probably do that sort of thing.

"Not dead?" This got another look of confusion from the man, and he dipped his hand into one of the pockets of his tuxedo, drawing out a battered and yellowed ledger. "What are your names? Where did you board the Phantom Train?" He began flipping through the pages.

"Uhm…" Aeris glanced back at Galuf, who just shrugged, and so she turned back to the concierge. "I guess it can't hurt. I am Aeris Gainsburough., and he is Galuf…," she stopped, suddenly realizing she didn't know the former King's last name.

"Baldesion. Galuf Baldesion, King of Bal," Galuf picked up for her, offering another reassuring smile as he moved to stand next to her.

"I see, I see…" The concierge stated as he flipped through the ledger, his eyes dancing across the text. "Ah! You are part of a guest group." The man tapped a section of the ledger, nodding his head as if everything made sense. But then he paused. "Except, we would have left you off at the last stop if you are not dead, and I am afraid was passed that some time ago…" He shook his head. "Well, no matter. These things work themselves out. The food will not harm you, even if you are not dead. Did you wish to eat?"

The two exchanged glances for a moment, and then Galuf nodded his head. "Uhm, sure."

"Marvelous! And will the other members of your entourage be joining you?"

"Other members of our what?" Galuf asked.

"Your group of guests, your entourage. According to my manifest there are three more members of your group, three other living people on the train, I mean. They are currently in the engineering car at the front…will be they be joining you?"

"Hold that thought. We'll be back." Aeris stated, and she and Galuf twisted around and practically ran towards the front of the train.

--

Aeris's mind raced as she ran through the train after Galuf. Who were they going to meet? And why had they appeared so far apart on the train? Part of her had the lingering hope it might be someone she knew, but she doubted that…for one thing, most of the people she knew were still alive. And this train seemed to be for dead people. Or formerly dead people.

No. She wasn't going to get her hopes up just to have them dashed, that was foolish. She'd see who it was, that was all.

"The engineering car should be the next one," Galuf slid to a stop in front of the last door before the locomotive and paused, waiting for Aeris to catch up. "We don't know who is going to be up there. Are you ready? Can you fight if you have to?"

"I…" Aeris frowned, resisting the urge to tug her half-finished braid over her shoulder and work on it. "I usually fight with a pole, and…I don't have my magic right now. I don't know. But I'll do my best."

"Alright, stay behind me," Galuf shoved the door open and stepped through the small open air area towards the engineering car, but stopped without opening it, peering through the window, and Aeris almost bumped into his back in her hurry to keep up.

"What is it?" She asked, pushing against him until she could see into the room as well.

Three men stood facing off, two against another, and Aeris immediately recognized one of them. iZack?!/i She almost shouted the black haired SOLDIER's name but caught herself at the last second. He looked the same as she remembered him, all those years ago before he had disappeared from her life as suddenly as he had entered it, even dressed in his black SOLDIER First Class uniform, but without that massive sword that Cloud had inherited after his death.

He was standing next to another man, a man in a long reddish coat with graying hair, a wicked looking broadsword resting across his shoulders and held up by one arm. He was mostly facing away from them, but Aeris could see the edges of small-rim glasses resting on his nose.

Both the man in red and Zack were facing another man, who was dressed in bright and colorful clothing, a cross between a robe and a uniform almost in brilliant shades of red and yellow and pink. His face was painted much the way a clown was, and he had a rather unpleasant looking blonde ponytail. Aeris felt her insides crawl just looking at him. This was not a person she would ever want to meet, if she could avoid it.

"We should go in there! I know one of them!" She hissed the words, a false whisper that barely carried over the sound of the rushing train, but Galuf held up a hand. "Wait. Listen."

Aeris sighed, but after a moment she let herself listen…and the voices from inside were indeed carrying through the glass. The clown-man was speaking, and his voice reminded her of the kind of nasty laughter that wicked children had when they were killing insects.

"…train is really quite marvelous, isn't it? I am sorry your stay is going to be so short, but honestly we weren't quite sure what to do with the _four _of you." As he spoke, his eyes seemed to alight for a moment on the window where Galuf and Aeris were peering inside, but then it flashed away before she was sure he knew they were there.

"The universe is being...reordered. Restructuring to something more interesting, more…wonderous," He gave a little half-bow as if he had just performed a magnificent dance. "Isn't it fantastic? Unforuntely, the four of you are…loose ends. Spirits too strong to be banished, clinging too harshly to your worlds. But hardly matters. This train will be taking you to the afterlife, quite soon really."

"Why are you even telling us this?" Zack spoke up, and Aeris grinned at hearing his familiar voice. Even after all these years she recognized the cocky, joking tone he always had. "We're gonna get out of this, you're acting like some kind of awful movie villain."

"Yes, well, you heroes do have a habit of coming back from certain death, but I just couldn't resist. It's so…poignant, this situation. Rescued from death, given new life, a true resurrection…and you'll be snuffed out hours later!" The clown-man burst out laughing, his ponytail bobbing as his entire body shook with his twisted glee. "It's magnificient! I was so thrilled when we found out you were here! I always did love a tragic comedy..." He reached out and ran a gloved had across the massive engine behind him.

"Anyway, I wish you a marvelous trip. But I must be going…I wouldn't want to tag along, after all! So much to do. So many things to destroy, so many people to deal with. But I'll be watching! And tell the other two what I said, would you? I do hope that girl cries, I love to see a desperate bit of tears."

"WAIT!" The man in red shouted, leaping towards the clown, but the crazy man was already fading away, and he just passed through him, nearly crashing into the engine itself. "Damn it."

"What the hell was that?" Aeris heard Zack asked this, and she finally gave in, pushing Galuf further out of the way so she could shove the door open.

"Zack!" She shouted his name, and both he and the man in red twisted around to face them. She had a grin on her face, a genuine smile, and she nearly threw herself across the room to hug him.

"Aeri-oof," Zack stumbled backwards a step, catching himself against the wall of the train, but there was a grin of equal joy on his boyish face. "What are you doing here?" He asked, even as he gave her a big hug in return.

Aeris didn't answer for a long moment, just hugging her former boyfriend. She probably would've been just as clingy to anyone she had once known…the thought of finding someone she knew, some anchor to her old life, helped immensely.

"She woke up here, same as me. Same as you two, I guess." Galuf walked calmly into the engineering car, watching Aeris and Zack with a little smile on his face. "I'm Galuf. Zack, right?" The SOLDIER nodded.

"You're not with the clown, right?" This from the man in red, who moved to stand between the three, glancing from Aeris to Galuf warily, his hand tensing on the hilt of his sword. He didn't seem paranoid of Zack, but the two had probably already done their introductions.

"Of course not. We're trapped here, just like you," Aeris said, finally releasing her hug and taking a step back…only to reach out and catch Zack by the hand, curling her fingers through his, just to make sure he didn't somehow disappear.

The man in red seemed to consider this for a long moment, then nodded his head, taking a step back and loosening the grip on his sword. "The name's Auron."

"Well, it's nice to meet you then, Auron." Galuf said, clapping his hands together. "Now…let's see about avoiding our little trip to the other side, shall we?"

_((Author's Note: Well, there's chapter 2! It took a while, I'm not sure why. I had to keep changing my idea, finally settled on this one. Next chapter will be…well, a surprise, perhaps! Review! I know people are reading this! Review's get me to write more, faster! Even if they're bad, really. Oh! And I need a beta, if possible. I'm terrible at editing my own work. ))_


	4. Chapter 3

**Brave New World**

Chapter 3

"Are you alive?"

The voice was female, very soft, tinted with layers of exaustion, and Cloud probably would have missed it entirely if it hadn't been accompanied by a hand on his shoulder, trying to shake him awake. It wasn't a very hard shake, but it was insistent enough that it pulled him from unconsciousness, and after a few moments he managed to lift his arm, shaking the hand off his shoulder.

"I'm awake." He mumbled, his arm dropping back down to his shoulders as he did a quick mental inventory, wiggling fingers and toes to make sure they were still there. Okay, so, alive, and in one piece. He hadn't been expecting that, not after the storm had swept him up like so much trash. He remembered twirling into the air, and then…nothing.

"Oh thank god, I thought I was alone here." The voice that had woken him up continued to talk as Cloud checked himself over, and he finally opened his eyes, sitting up with a groan. The room was only fifteen feet or so across, the walls and floor made of a dark colored metal with exposed rivets and gears, the only light source a swinging glowing tube far up in the ceiling.

"Everything still works?" The female voice came from next to him, and Cloud turned to find a young woman seated a foot or so away, her back pressed up against one of the walls. The first thing he noticed was the fact that her shoulder length hair was a light green color, and it half-hid her face as she looked at him. She was dressed in an old fashioned red and white shirt and skirt, and had a slightly curved military sword resting across her lap. She had an amused smile on her face as she watched him.

Cloud nodded, turning away from the woman to search the mostly empty room until he spotted his sword on the floor a few feet away, and reached out to grab the handle and drag it closer.

"It was on your back when I found you, but I moved it so that I could roll you over. I hope that is alright." As she spoke, the green haired woman pushed herself slowly up the wall, standing hesitantly, as though she weren't sure her feet were going to hold her up. "Do you happen to know where we are?"

Cloud shook his head as he stood as well, stretching the soreness from his muscles. "No. I mean, it kind of looks like Midgar, maybe somewhere in the lower levels, but most of those collapsed years ago."

"I am not familiar with that name, but there are many places I have not been since the cataclysm," the woman pushed off the wall and moved slowly towards him, her footsteps steadying as she moved, but her hand was gripping her sword so tightly her knuckles were white. "I think you are right about it being underground, though. I was almost-" Just before she reached him, her legs buckled and she pitched forward.

Cloud barely caught her before she hit the ground, easing her down onto her knees and then crouching next to her. "Are you alright?"

"Mmm, yes," she pressed her hand to her forehead as she knelt there, her other pressed into the ground with her sword to brace herself. "There is something here that does not agree with me, I believe. Something in the air," she looked up and smiled faintly. "It is simply making me tired." She stood again, her eyes closed, and then nodded her head. "I will be alright for now."

Cloud wasn't sure he believed her, but he let the matter drop, instead moving to scoop his sword off the ground and strap it to his back, and then heading towards the metal rooms only feature, a rusty looking door smack in the middle of the north wall. He paused, his hand on the knob, listening for any sounds of movement outside before turning the latch and pushing the door slowly open, peering outside. The room opened up into a long hallway with walls and a floor made of the same metal substance, and a grated ceiling with odd hooks and cranes hanging from it.

"What is your name, by the way?" The woman had stepped up behind Cloud as he peered into the hallway, and she reached out to rest a hand on his arm as she asked. "If we are stuck here together, it could help to know what to call each other, yes?"

"Cloud," he stated as he stepped out into the hallway, one hand reaching up to rest warily on the hilt of his sword, expecting something to jump out of the shadows at them. But the only sound was the woman's surprised laughter as she stepped into the hallway as well, her eyes sparkling. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. It is just a bit odd. My name is Terra, it is nice to meet you, Cloud." She grinned, leaning her back against the wall as he surveyed the hallway. "An odd pairing of names though, is it not? Terra and Cloud, like Earth and Sky."

Cloud paused, and then he actually laughed softly, just for a moment, as he nodded his head. "It's strange." He agreed, shrugging his shoulders and then turning to move down the metallic hallway, listening to the woman's footsteps behind him to make sure she didn't fall beyond, or collapse again.

They walked on then, the only sound breaking the silence the distant machine noises, but none of the cranes and hooks above them were moving. After a few minutes, Cloud noticed the foot steps behind him had stopped, and turned to find Terra resting one hand against the metal wall, peering up at the ceiling. "Are you alright?" He asked, moving back to her.

"I…yes, I am fine. There is just...there is something familiar about all of this." She shook her head, some of her green hair breaking loose from her pony tail to fall across her face. "I feel as though I have been here before, but I cannot place it." She frowned, leaning her weight more against the wall. "And I do not believe I am as well as I thought." She added with a weak smile.

"Here, lean on me," Cloud hooked an arm around Terra's back and she settled her own over his shoulders, and he half-dragged her down the hallway.

It was another five minutes or so before the hallway began to change. The walls and ceiling started to spread out around them slowly, sloping up and away until the ceiling and all it's hooks and cranes vanished into the darkness above them. Cloud got so wrapped up in trying to figure out why the room was expanding that he almost walked into a large tube in the center of their path.

It was nearly ten feet high, filled with a viscus green substance that bubbled and boiled behind a thick layer of glass. "I wonder what it could be…" Terra asked softly as they went around it. Her eyes were half-open, and her head was leaning on Cloud's shoulder now. "Looking at it gives me a headache." She added.

Cloud nodded and hurried on, but more of the large canisters appeared before them, and he had to go far out of his way to avoid them. "Wait, something is different over there." Terra said suddenly, pointing away from him. There was a blueish glow off to the side. "Should we go and look?"

"Are you up for it?" Cloud asked, shifting her weight against him a little more. He was nearly carrying her at this point.

"No," she said, a little grin on her face. "But we should check it out anyway. It may be why we are here."

He stared at her for a moment, and then smiled ruefully and nodded his head, starting towards the blue glow. As they approached it, the large containers of green fluid became more and more numerous, until Cloud finally had to give up avoiding them, just moving through the rows between them with Terra as best he could.

Finally, the green tubes suddenly ended, and they stepped out into a large open area with a massive blue tube in the center. It was similar to the green tubes, except floating in the center of the liquid was a beautiful woman in a light white dress. The floor around the tube was sunken a bit further into the floor, and rows of computer panels lined the small walls. But the place seemed to be empty.

Cloud gently set Terra down on the short stairs that led to the lowered floor, and then moved further into the room, coming to a stop next to the tube, peering up at the woman. She was very tall, and through the blue liquid he could see bubbles escaping from her skin and hair, as if she was somehow leaking air.

"She's beautiful," he heard Terra say behind her, and he couldn't help but agree. There was an allure about the woman, something hauntingly sad and yet strikingly beautiful. She was asleep, and yet he somehow felt as though she were looking at him.

"I wonder who she is," Cloud asked, mostly to himself, as he turned to look study the computer panels that lined the sunken area. There were any number of panels that seemed dedicated to monitoring the woman, with various screens that he recognized from the hospitals in Midgar and Junon. Every twenty seconds or so all the monitors seemed to jump in readings, and there was a hiss from above them. He looked up to watch green liquid traveling along several clear pipes, to be gathered into one of the nearby green containers. "I think they are collecting something from her. Whatever those bubbles are…"

"Behind you, Cloud!" Terra called out, and he spun, yanking his sword from his back and raising it...only to come face to face with a startled looking young man in a white trench coat. He had short nearly-orange hair capping an exausted looking face, and he was holding a clipboard loosely in his left hand.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" The young man asked, but before the words had finished clearing his lips he found himself pressed hard into one of the panels, Cloud looming over him, the massive metal sword resting against his neck.

"Who are you? What is this place? What is going here? Who's that woman?" Cloud let loose his own barrage of questions, and the young man held up one hand as if to show he wasn't armed. "Talk, fast."

"My name is Seifer. I…I don't know where we are, they don't let me outside. But this is all a, a collection machine. It gathers her up and puts it in those tubes for when they need it." The young man talked as fast as he could, smiling weakly. "They make me watch it, because the technology is similar to my world."

Cloud frowned, as if considering what he would do next, and then with a grunt he backed off, holding his massive sword loosely in one hand, his gaze turning back to the woman. And then something the young man said clicked, and he turned back. "What do you mean, your world?"

Seifer gathered himself up again, brushing off his coat and picking up the clipboard he had dropped when Cloud tackled him. "My world, before all of this. Before they created this place." He explained, as if it made perfect sense. "They use her to gather us up and bring things here, people, and buildings and…whatever they want, or whatever they have to bring, and they are sticking it all together, making…something." He shook his head. "I don't know what, they won't give me any details. I just watch the machines and make adjustments." He moved over to one of the computers as he talked, staring at it. "They're from Esther, a city on my world, and they use the magic of this tower to somehow…" He shook his head. "Harness her."

"Harness her what? Who is she?" This question came from Terra, who had hauled herself to her feet and was walking slowly towards them, leaning against the computer panels for support.

Seifer seemed unsure about whether or not he should answer, but a cough from Cloud got him talking again. "She's called the Cloud of Darkness. She has…a connection to the void, the space between worlds or dimensions, something like that. They have been sucking that connection out of her, capturing it with these machines and then focusing it out, sending it through the heavens to grab whatever they want." He shrugged. "I don't know why."

"You mean that…storm thing, it comes from her?" Cloud asked as he turned back to them. "My home was swept away by a massive black storm. She created it?"

"As far as I know, yes. She creates the essence of it, and then they use the machines to channel it where they want it." Seifer nodded. "It brings things here. Or it destroys them, I guess. I honestly don't know."

"What if we let her free? Would it stop?" Terra came to rest on a monitor a few feet from both of them, sitting on the edge of it.

"Free?" Seifer laughed. "She's not a prisoner. She wants to be in that tube, she helped create all of this. She's just sleeping until the first phase is finished."

"Well, what if we kill you then, will that stop it?" Cloud hissed, anger obvious in his voice as he stalked back towards Seifer. "Without you monitoring her, will she die?"

"I don't think she'd die, she'd just…wake up," Seifer stood his ground as Cloud approached, although he obviously didn't like being unarmed in the face of such an angry person. "And if you kill me, they'll just make one of my friends come do the monitoring. They're holding them hostage to keep me working."

"So you aren't-" Cloud was cut off as a siren sounded in the ceiling, and the far bank of monitors he hadn't been able to identify suddenly sprang to life. "What's happening?"

"They're using the void energy to move something," Seifer hurried to the other side of the room, Cloud following along, Terra leaning on him again. The monitors that had shown many different images were now all set to a single screen, where a massive castle city could be seen. There was a gleaming crystal spire standing in the center of it, but the streets were deserted. "They have been rearranging things for days now, moving the bits and pieces of what they brought here around the planet, sometimes buildings or landscapes, sometimes people." Seifer shook his head. "I've been trying to find some pattern in it, but there's nothing."

As they watched on the monitor, a storm suddenly developed above the castle city, the black clouds roiling and crackling with silent thunder and lightning. It swirled into a massive tornado that decended, enveloping the city. And then, it dissipated, and where the buildings and castles had stood, there was only flat grasslands.

"In an hour or so, the storm will place it somewhere else," Seifer said as he turned back to them. "There is a recharge period, I think. It's kind of like…using up a car battery? It has to sit idle before you can use it again."

"What's a car?" Terra asked, but Seifer just shook her question away.

"It doesn't matter, you need to get out of here. The storm makes mistakes, it's been placing people randomly all over this new world. Some were fighting it, I think, but others just..." He laughed. "It's kind of reassuring, really. They haven't quite worked all the kinks out of their machines yet. It must have dumped the two of you here. You need to get away before they find you."

"What about you?" Terra frowned. "You're a slave here, right? You should come with us."

"I can't. They have my friends, I won't leave them behind." Seifer sighed. "It's why I'm allowed to move around freely, they know I won't leave."

"Well, where are they being kept?" Cloud asked, his eyes narrowed, an unnerving smile on his face. "If we break them out, do you know a quick way to escape?"

Seifer seemed stunned at this unexpected offer, and he didn't answer for several moments, his gaze on the floating woman in the tank nearby. And then he nodded. "Yes, there's an airship dock on the same level as the prison cells, we could escape that way. There was a ship there earlier. But they took my gunblade and she hardly looks like she's in any condition to fight." He smiled apologetically to Terra. "There are several guards on that level."

Cloud's smile just got wider. "Trust me."

~*~

Seifer led the two of them to a small elevator hidden between several of the green tubes. It was a service elevator, a platform with no walls or doors, just a small control panel sticking on a spike out of the ground. "It's not really a prison, just several small cells with a guard at the end of the hallway," Seifer explained as they descended.

"Alright, when we get down there, take Terra and go get us an airship," Cloud was looking up as he spoke, his mind lost to his planning. "I'll go get your friends and meet you there."

Seifer seemed as though he wanted to object, but finally he just nodded. "Once you have them, the airship is at the far end of the floor. It's…two rights and a left from the prison, but you'll have to run. Once they realize something is going on, this place will be swarming with guards."

"If there are so many guards, why have we not seen any?" Terra asked. She was seated on the floor of the elevator, trying to catch her breath. As they moved farther away from the strange green tubes and the Cloud of Darkness, she was beginning to feel better. But the odd sense of the place was still weakening her.

"They don't patrol the collection floor," Seifer shook his head. "It was one of her rules. She doesn't like people seeing her like that. I suspect having me there was just an unavoidable effect of using the Esther machines."

The elevator came to a stop, and they stood in silence, listening for the sounds of footsteps or guards. "They must be at their posts. No one guards this elevator." Seifer reached down to help Terra up, and she smiled greatfully, standing shakily on her feet. But more of her strength was returning. "It's that way to the prison, and this way to the airship. I won't leave unless you bring my friends. Their names of Fujin and Raijin."

Cloud just nodded. "Give me ten minutes." And then he disappeared down the hallway.

After the sound of his footsteps faded away, Seifer turned to Terra and grinned a boyish, almost excited grin. "I've been stuck here for what feels like _months._ I can't believe…you think this will work?"

Terra just shrugged at him. "I have been in situations just as dire and escaped," she moved off the elevator, waiting for him to lead the way before she followed. "Although admittedly none of them were nearly as…strange, as all this," she frowned. "I do not remember the storm we saw on the monitors. Perhaps I was asleep when it came?"

"Maybe. On some worlds, the technology is advanced enough that they can detect it. My world was like that. On others…" There was a frown on the young man's face. "I'll admit, I've done some unpleasant things in my life, but nothing so…so…"

"Villainous?" Terra offered the word, smiling faintly. "It reminds me of someone I once fought. Insanity for the sake of insanity, with no real reason or backing." She paused then, and suddenly she held the red-sheathed sword she had been carrying out to him. "Here, you better use this. I am not strong enough to swing it yet, and I do not trust my magic in this…odd atmosphere."

Seifer seemed surprised, but he nodded and reached out to take the blade. "Thank you. There will be two guards at the door to the airship hanger, but I can handle them with this." He grinned, and Terra couldn't help but smile back. There was something infectious about the young man.

Indeed, there were two guards at the door into the hanger, and they barely even registered Seifer as he approached. Terra was back at the last corner, just the tip of her head poking around the side so she could see what happened. The guards were dressed in armor she didn't recognize, a mix of brown and red chain mail that reminded her of the garb the Imperial Forces had worn, but with less protection and more…show. It was less a piece of fighting equipment and more a uniform.

"You know you aren't allowed in the hanger, Seifer," one of the guards said, his voice tired. "That hasn't changed since you asked to be let in yesterday, or last week."

"I just want to see the sky, is all. I won't leave without my friends," Seifer spoke calmly, almost boredly, as though this were a conversation he'd had before. "I've got no where to run, remember?"

"That doesn't matter, the rules are the…" The guard cut off mid sentence as Seifer swung Terra's sword out from under his white coat and swung it in a single smooth motion that cleaved the man from hip to shoulder, his armor and chest bursting open with a sudden rush of blood and fabric, and he collapsed silently backwards, mouth opened in shock.

The other guard had just enough time to draw his own sword halfway from his scabbard before Seifer continued his swing, his weight carrying the blade in a downward arc that caught the man just under the chin, clipping his head clean off.

The orange haired young man took a step backwards as the two bodies slumped to the floor, and he crouched down to wipe his blade clean on a spot of unsoiled armor. "You can come out now." He called back to Terra.

She came carefully down the hallway, pausing a few feet away to study his handiwork. "You are rather good, but was it necessary to kill them?"

Seifer sighed and shrugged as he stood, offering the sword back to her. "Maybe, maybe not. It was the easiest way through the door." There was a casualness to his brutality that unnerved Terra, but she let it pass, taking the sword back from him and sliding it into the sheath she had been holding for him.

"Shall we see what model airships are on sale today?" Seifer asked, a grin on his face, as if he hadn't just killed two men moments before.

~*~

The entrance to the small prison section had also been guarded by two men, but Cloud hadn't even needed to unsheathe his own sword to get by them, smacking one with the side of the heavy blade and slamming the hilt into the face of the other before they even realized he was there.

Inside, there were six small cells lined up along each wall, lined with thick metal bars the same harsh metal color as the walls and floor.

"WHO?" A voice, female, harsh, called out before he had taken two steps into the cells, and Cloud searched until he found the source, a silver-haired young woman about seifer's age, dressed in blue and black, her small body leaning against the metal bars.

"Are you Seifer's friend? The name's Cloud. Where's the other one?"

"HERE." The silver haired woman pointed to a sleeping form behind her. ESCAPE?" She asked, her eyes wide. "HOW?"

Her odd way to talking threw Cloud off his beat, but he worked through it, turning to hunt for a way to unlock the cells. They didn't have keys on the doors, which meant there was a switch or control nearby, hopefully in the room. "By airship, they're getting it ready now."

The woman nodded, and then stuck her hand through the bars, pointing down towards the far wall of the room. "THERE."

He nodded and moved on, the sounds of the woman waking her companion accompanying him as he reached the wall and hunted around until he found a panel of switches. A flick of his hand threw them all up, and with the screeching of metal on metal, all the barred doors in the room began to open.

He hurried back to the cell to find the silver-haired woman helping a large dark-skinned man out of the cell. He was limping badly, and there were bruises all over his face and chest. "He alright to travel?" Cloud asked, eyeing the man. Why was everyone here injured in some way?

"YES." The silver haired woman just nodded her head, then looked past him towards one of the other cells. "RELM?" She asked, her eyes turning to Cloud.

"Realm? Realm what?"

"Relm, man. They've got her in a cell over there. We can't leave her here. She's just a little kid." This was from the injured man, who looked up gratefully from where he was slumped against his smaller friend.

"PLEASE." The silver haired woman nodded her agreement, and Cloud turned to the cell she had been looking at, frowning into the darkness. As he approached it though, he could see the form of a young girl curled up on a small metal bench inside. She was sleeping, or unconscious, but either way she made no response as he swung his sword onto his back and scooped her up.

"Any others?" He asked as he returned to his other two rescuees.

"NEGATIVE." The woman said. She was already moving towards the door, pulling her friend along with her, but not making the bets time.

"That's not going to work. Here, take her." He offered the sleeping child out to the woman, and she took her, letting Cloud catch the man's weight. "Are you Fujin or Raijin, anyway?" He asked the man as he started out the door, dragging the beaten one along with him.

"Raijin, man. She's Fujin. Don't mind how she talks, she's glad you're here. Seifer alright?" His voice was weak, but there was somehow still amusement in it, as if he were enjoying the situation despite how awful it was.

"He was fine when I saw him. Hopefully he's still fine because otherwise we're in trouble." Cloud hurried down the hall, pausing long enough to make sure Fujin was keeping up.

"Nah, it's cool. Seifer always manages to get us out of this sort of thing," there was a confidence in Raijin's voice that startled Cloud, as he thought back towards the orange haired boy he'd met earlier. Seifer had seemed nervous, uncertain, but perhaps that was just a side effect of his being trapped here.

The trip to the airship hanger was surprisingly uneventful, though Cloud had to admit he was surprised at the two dead guards in front of the door. "Hurry, inside."

The hanger was huge, a half a dozen airships of different shapes and sizes scattered about the floor, but one of them was covered in glowing and flashing lights. It was like an old fashioned ship Cloud had seen in movies, but with propellers instead of sails. Terra was standing on the gangway, waving her hands to get their attention as they approached.

"Hurry! Seifer believes we may have set off an alarm." She called out as they moved along the floor towards the ship. And as if heralded by her words, there was suddenly the sound of shouting from the hallway behind them.

"HURRY." Fujin said in her commanding voice, darting ahead of Cloud and Raijin and climbing the gangplank at a near-run. She moved past Terra, nearly knocking her off the platform in her hurry to reach the ship.

"Was that Relm?" Terra sounded stunned as she asked, but she remained on the gangplank until Cloud and Raijin had caught up to her, then helped Cloud with the injured man onto the ship.

"You're feeling better?" Cloud asked the green haired woman as they dragged the gangplank itself onto the ship a moment later.

"The further we get from that odd room, the better I feel. But there is still something…unpleasant here. Let's go, Seifer!" This last was shouted over towards the back of the ship, and there was a shout of acknowledgement in return.

Just as the ship was lifting off the deck, a group of guards suddenly spilled into the room, but there was nothing they could do as the airship cruised slowly out into the fresh air. The sun hung low in the distant sky, though whether it was morning or evening was anyone's guess. They stood waiting patiently, nervously, for the sounds of persuit ships or gunfire, but there was nothing.

Cloud stood at the side railing, catching his breath, and then realized Terra was no longer with him. A quick search found her standing at the rear of the ship, behind where Seifer was piloting.

"Thank you," was all Seifer said as Cloud passed him, and Cloud just nodded as he moved on towards Terra. She was leaning against the railing, peering back at where they had come from, the young girl Relm held gently against her, still asleep. Behind them, looming up from ground to sky like a monstrous finger, was a massively deformed tower, with spikes and spires of metal and stone jutting out in every direction.

"We were in Kefka's Tower," Terra said softly as Cloud joined him. "It is a place of madness and rogue magic." She smiled faintly. "Where did you find Relm?"

"She was in the prison cells with Seifer's friends. Who is Kefka?" Cloud leaned his hip against the railing, watching the tower fade behind them.

"A madman. He destroyed my world, tore it apart from end to end. I would be sure he's behind this somehow, but…he's dead." Terra shook her head. "I watched him die." There was a sadness in her voice as she said it, as if even the death of her worst enemy somehow brought her sorrow.

"I wouldn't count on death being a certainty here," Seifer called back to the two of them. "There's a sorceress running around, Ultimicia, working with the Cloud of Darkness, and I know for a fact she's dead too." Seifer shrugged. "The rules don't apply here all the time. So where are we going?"

Cloud just shrugged. "Away, for now. But we'll be back."

_(( Well, there you go. Another chapter. I write these as they come to me, so I can't promise updates on any sort of schedule, obviously. Of course, reviews are motivating, so…if you review, perhaps I'll write faster!))_


End file.
